News from IES Custom Staffing

Do You Have Employees Who Call In Sick Weekly? Here’s What To Do

Posted January 26th, 2018

When an employee calls in sick, your productivity can take a big hit. Depending upon the job the employee has been tasked with, you may have to find temporary workers to fill the gap from the absent employee. Other workers may also have to pick up the slack, whether you bring on temp employees or not, as temporary workers don’t have the knowledge and experience with your protocols that a full time worker at your organization has.

If your company has a problem with employees who call in sick regularly, there are a few things you should do to try to ensure employees aren’t abusing sick leave policies and to ensure your productivity isn’t hurt by absenteeism. Some of the steps you should consider include the following:

Chart trends in employee’s sick leave. If there’s an employee you think is calling in sick too often, monitor sick days to see if there is a pattern. If the employee always calls in sick on Mondays, for example, he may have a time conflict on that day which he’s trying to hide from you.

Talk with employees who call in sick too often. Often, the best approach is to talk with an employee who calls in sick too frequently to find out why. If you discover a serious issue, you can discuss leave policies with the worker to try to find a way to resolve it.

Discuss possible accommodations your company could make. If you can provide the employee with more flexibility so they can better balance their work and personal life, the employee may no longer need to abuse sick leave policies by calling in sick too often.

Develop sick leave policies, such as requiring a doctor’s note. If you don’t believe a worker is actually sick when they claim to be, putting policies in place like requiring a doctor’s note can allow you to ensure your sick-leave policy isn’t abused.

Establish consequences for frequent absenteeism. Employees who are repeatedly absent need to know they can’t just continue the behavior. Establish a disciplinary protocol to try to put an end to the excessive sick days.

IES Custom Staffing can help you find reliable staff members who will show up on time and who won’t call in sick more often than necessary. We can also assist you in finding temporary workers to fill in when staff members are out. Contact our staffing service today to find out more.